


The Right Spot

by Takaska



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: I love the idea of Julian being physically incapable of handling any kind of flirting, Other, gender is never mentioned so, gender neutral reader, i would never lie about pressure points and neither would this questionably-a-doctor, just some light teasing and fun facts about pressure points!, nothing major but?, some nondescript tea and light flirting, the pressure points used are REAL and do as I describe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 14:12:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12913581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takaska/pseuds/Takaska
Summary: Some customers don't like what the cards have to say, and can be a touch rude. It gives you headaches, and luckily Julian knows how to get rid of those. In response to his help, you tease him, because it's fun.





	The Right Spot

**Author's Note:**

> as I was writing this i realized I didn't give a reason for him to be in your shop but? he's there now it's fine he's giving you advice and drinking your tea it's all cool

You let out a loud, exasperated sigh, rubbing your forehead as you return from a rather… irritable customer. It’s not _your_ fault the cards don’t hold all the answers, but people like having another person to direct their frustrations at, so you take the brunt.

Julian pokes his head out of a nearby doorway, eyebrow raised, “My my, that _was_ a big one. Has something gone wrong?”

You huff and shake your head, waving him off as you head to the kitchen to prepare some tea. He trails after you slowly, a very tall and curious shadow.

“Oh? Has a cat caught your tongue mid-reading?” he quips.

“No, just a headache,” you respond with a slight laugh. “Not everyone likes what the cards have to say, so they take it out on me. It happens every so often,”

His eye narrows slightly, and he lets out a _‘hmph.’_

“Well I can’t do anything about sour attitudes, but I can provide a solution for the headache, if you’d like?”

Kettle full and prepared, on the stove, you ask the salamander to light it before you turn your attention fully to the doctor. It requires a fair bit of adjusting your gaze to meet an eye that’s a full foot- or more- taller than your own.

“I’m listening, if you have a _little_ wisdom left to share,” you chuckle.

He scoffs, hand going to his chest as he exclaims “A _little_ wisdom? To _spare?!_ I have _a lot_ of wisdom to share, I’ll have you know! Why, I-”

“Julian!” you laugh, hand raising to stop his predictable dramatics. “Fine, fine, you’re a veritable _fountain_ of knowledge, but I’d like to start with the drop that will get rid of my headache, if you please?”

He lets out a dramatic sigh as he smiles, “Of course. Feel behind your neck, high up- just under where you can feel the base of your skull, and press down on it for about twenty to thirty seconds. Faster than any other method I know.”

Quizzically, you reach behind your neck, half thinking he’s trying to pull a joke. But as he sits at the table, his gaze remains firm and you know, somehow, he’s telling the truth. So you do as he says, and within even ten seconds you feel the headache receding and let out an appreciative half-sigh, half-hum in Julian’s direction.

“It worked. Thank you, dearest doctor,” you say, adding a teasing lilt at the end. You grab two cups for the tea as he waves off the thanks.

“Anything to help a customer in need! My payment should come out to…” his eye flicks up and looks at fake numbers as he pretends to add it up. “Oh, a cup of tea should cover it just fine, I think.”

You laugh again as you set the cup down in front of him and sit across the table, watching him take a test sip. You know he prefers coffee, but he’s used to you and Asra having none around by now.

“Thank you for the discount,” you smile, humming as you sip your own drink. Your lips purse as you think of something, and ask “Are there any other spots like that? Get rid of backaches, stomachaches, or anything else like that?”

His eye lights up, as it often does when he’s about to show how much he really knows. He loves when you ask about anything relating to medicine, or how the body works. In turn, you love how excited he gets, and the knowledge you gain.

“Actually, yes!” he exclaims, setting the tea down gently before he continues, “There’s many ‘pressure points’ on the body, that can relieve tension in the muscles when directly engaged with! It can hurt, especially depending on where the point is, but the relief people feel tends to overshadow the thirty seconds of pain, so I’ve gladly done research into them to see how to get the best effects!”

Sipping your tea, you watch as he speaks. He’s always been an energetic talker, gesticulating at every possible opportunity. You hum and settle back into the chair more before responding. 

“Would you be able to show me more of these pressure points? Especially if you have anything for the shoulders,” you say, rolling one for emphasis.

“Of course! There’s two, one on either side of the neck where it meets the shoulders,” he says, pressing his first two fingers against his neck to show you where. For a moment, you’re admittedly distracted, as he lifts his chin to stretch his neck further and the muscles flex slightly. After the moment passes, you place the tea down, and try to mimic him.

“Here?” you say, not sure you’ve found it as you had with the skull point.

“I- uh, it’s easier to know for sure if you can _feel_ the muscles,” he explains quickly, shading pink before continuing, “So, I’d... need to feel them, or, maybe you can feel for yourself later if you’d like to, er, switch topics?”

A light chuckle escapes your lips as you see him suddenly getting embarrassed. You can’t help but have a teasing tone as you respond

“Julian, I wouldn’t be bothered by you touching me, you know,” you smile, as he darkens a shade more, and you continue seriously with, “If you’d like to show me now, I’ll know for later, right? So I won’t have to ask you again?”

He just nods and stands up, tea forgotten as he moves quickly to stand behind you. Once he’s out of your sight, however, you can practically feel his nerves skyrocketing as he hesitantly tilts your head to the side and gently glides his first two fingers down your neck. After a moment or two, he presses down, hard, and you can’t hold back a gasp at the sudden discomfort searing down your whole arm.

“I- I know. It-it hurts at first, but… well, by now it should be better, right? In the shoulder and arm?” he stumbles around his words slightly, fingers never straying from the pressure point as his words come true. Your arm and shoulder do feel much better, even if the point his fingers are connecting to still radiates a very dull pain.

You nod, sighing as you feel the muscles loosen in what feels like forever. “You were right again. Would you mind doing the other side too…?”

As you ask, you tilt your head to the other side, looking back and smiling at his bright red features. He clears his throat and nods, and you smirk to yourself as you look forward again. Once more, his fingers glide over the taut muscles of your neck, pressing down once they find the spot. You let out a hiss in response, but, like last time, it only takes a few seconds for the muscles to loosen.

Humming appreciatively as he removes his hands from you and backs away, you look at his bright red face, eye refusing to meet yours, with a wicked idea. _‘It’s too good to pass up,’_ you think.

“I can’t thank you enough Julian!” you smile, picking up your tea and bringing it to your lips. His eye meets your gaze but before he responds you purr out your continuation, “Your hands are quite talented indeed,”

His response becomes a strangled, cut off sound in his throat as he gets redder and looks anywhere but you as you gleefully take a sip.

He eventually clears his throat against his hand and composes himself enough to respond, “Well, I- I have… done my research, I suppose. And if it helps people, well, there are precious few who are more deserving than you,”

It’s your turn to blush, but only slightly. He hurriedly drinks his tea before says anything more, and you think a moment before saying anything.

“That’s incredibly sweet of you, Julian. If you can keep making me feel that loose and relaxed, I’d be happy to help you with anything of your own… and something tells me you know a lot of excellent tips, hm?” you smile, almost wicked as you watch his expression. Goodness, but he is so, _so easy_ to fluster. It’s incredibly endearing.

“W-well, I- it’s like I said, I know a lot of medical advice,” he stutters slightly. “As well I _should,_ I think, for a doctor. If I had no good advice, I’d be no better than a chef who had no clue what to do with the ingredients! Or a musician who didn’t know the notes!”

“Alright, you have a point there,” you smile, and you take a long sip as you pick your words for the next part.

“I’d love to learn whatever you want to show me. I like learning things from you. You know a lot about things I’d never really given much thought, and... it kind of helps that when you’re excited about something, it’s easy for me to listen and see your expressions and get excited about it too…”

His eye widens slightly, and he looks down, eyes darting along the table’s surface as he looks for the right words. His voice is low when he responds.

“Thank you. Not many people like to _learn_ from me, even when I was younger… It’s good to know I don’t sound off-putting with my medical talk…”

Your eyes soften and you reach out to take his hand in yours, squeezing it as you respond in earnest, “I mean it when I say you aren’t off-putting. I like hearing from you, and if I’m not in the mood, I will say so. Until then, assume I love hearing whatever tips you want to give. Similarly, I trust you’ll tell me if you want to know something, or if you would rather I didn’t talk about it at some point. Right?”

He finally meets your gaze, and smiles slightly. “Right. Thank you.”

You squeeze his hand again before releasing it, “Of course, Julian.”

After finishing the tea in companionable silence, you place the cups in the sink and turn back to him, smiling as you can’t resist a teasing remark.

“You know… with all these tricks of yours, I bet you’re a wonderful masseuse. Would I be able to find out how much more talented those hands are at some point?”

He splutters before his mouth snaps shut, and he covers it with his hand. He had returned to a normal color while you two drank, but now he was red again.You lean against the table, smiling wider as he tries not to look at you in embarrassment.

“I- I think… in theory it could- but- I… I don’t know if I…” he starts, stuttering and trailing off.

You laugh, and move to pat his hair as you let him off the hook.

“I know, I know, it would be practically _scandalous,_ but it’s fun to tease. You make it so easy,”

He has a slight pout to his lips as he looks up and says, “It’s tiring being teased all the time, you know.”

“Well, then how about next time, you try teasing me?” after a second’s more thought, you smile like a cat about to eat a canary, and continue with “Your _hands_ are talented, but that way? We can see how talented your tongue is, no?”

Once more, his face flares up in earnest, reaching his ears and threatening to color his neck as he swallows heavily and sets his jaw resignedly.

“Well, I suppose we should see if you can receive as well as you give,” his eye twinkles as he smirks.

You laugh and respond, “My dear doctor, that sounds an awful lot like a challenge.”


End file.
